Do you hear air bubbling in the system? I don't know what caused the oil level to drop, but ever since then, the engine seems to be going through the entire reservoir of synthetic oil advertised to last 25000 Km in just 5000 Km ~3200 mi. However, it's somewhat heavy, and then there's the plumbing job to take care of. I've thought about trying to detect an abnormal current flow but after looking at Hobbit's disassembly photos, I'm not sure. Next morning the pump was pumping fine and there was a good flow visible in the coolant reservoir , so I performed the bleeding procedure and a couple of small air bubbles came out, nothing more. .
New pump from Toyota will be here Thursday. This causes the Prius to shut down immediately. However, if you have recently changed your inverter coolant, my suggestion would be to find a professional who is in the habit of clamping the two rubber hoses when removing the pump and the topping it up and bleeding the system afterwards. But should it fail, my after-market solution will be the better replacement unless Toyota gets a clue. If only a temp sensor in the tank and the pump fails it will not rise temp in the tank, only inside inv.
I even went so far as to buy a flow sensor, which would probably do the job. Now in my case, I have knowledge based upon testing that is likely to extend my traction battery life. So the pump has an intermittent failure mode that seems to occur when it gets hot, of course the worse possible time. Also, on at least two occasions, the engine ran with extremely low level of oil, or none at all to the point where the engine sounded different and occasionally shuddered. My 2007 Prius with 162k miles had an Inverter Coolant Pump Failure Monday 6. Also, what type of coolant does the inverter use? We've been enjoying our 2001 Prius which we purchased a month ago with 176000 miles. Let the car sit overnight.
Now the coolant level is back down to where it was before I added. Fairly new battery for the electric part. I refilled the reservoir and cleared the code. My check engine light is on and I think the inverter pump is shot. The inverter loop includes a brushless 12V electric pump to circulate coolant through the baffles of the Prius transaxle. Seemed somewhat challenging to pull off.
I thought it had probably went down from evaporation and I just hadn't noticed it before. What steps should I use to properly troubleshoot. I have had my certified 2010 Prius since June 2015. A pump failure at this pretemp and at highway speeds would be inv. Not sure if the engine is eating up the oil or the car is leaking oil there is no oil stain where the car is normally parked. It had the color of a transmission fluid but significantly less viscous. I recall having to spend around 30 minutes or more to get air out of the system.
Did you open both bleed valves when trying to get air out of the system, and run vinyl hoses from the bleed valves up to the reservoir opening? If such a situation occure i. Toyota has corrected this in their Gen3 Prius by introducing a variable speed water pump using a stepper motor as the core which gets activated based on the actual temperature readings. Servicing the Inverter Coolant Loop While some object to the complexity of its layout, in truth, this supplementary cooling loop does a good job of protecting the Prius transaxle from heat damage. I don't see any wet hoses, puddles, or obvious signs of leakage. Took it to mechanic dealer is 2 hours away , he read and cleared the codes, then found the leak. I have had some weird messages and the yellow triangle pop up when the physical brakes cut in.
If it fails to vibrate, then the pump is not working. I know I could not find the oil drain plug. Why replace an inferior part with another inferior part? I will go with the Re-InVolt solution before the old style, inferior modules of the original design. She was able to make it about 20 minutes to a dealer where it was diagnosed. There is new evidence to suggest that the lubricating property of the coolant breaks down over time, thereby contributing to premature inverter pump failure. But no codes were thrown. Their unusual design may present a steep learning curve at first, but they present no problems that capable transmission techs cannot master with study and experience.
The instant the fluid drained from the car, I knew it was not engine oil. The inverter cooling loop does not have a thermostat, for example. This could even be powered by a 9v battery independently inside it's own small box perhaps velcroed to the dash underside. This can save you a bit of unnecessary expenditure. The vehicle accessories ex: radio, lights, etc. I prefer the clamping method and removing the pump from the top without having to remove the left head light assembly which would require the removal of part of the front bumper. Having seen the rather catastrophic outcomes that are possible with inverter coolant pump failure, I've thought a bit about adding a flow sensor in the coolant path.
The irony is Toyota has a public commitment to quality until the warranty ends. The above symptoms can manifest even without the warning lights coming on. That is if I get it installed???? Although the new design lasts longer than the previous version, it still fails somewhere close to 100,000km. The problem was probably due to the inner pads being jammed and received excessive wears. I have attached the report for reference.
Transaxel fluid is sweating through the inverter coolant hoses. I am pretty sure the original auxillary batter is still in it, so I order a new one today. Detecting a pump failure is an interesting challenge but could we just listen for it by turning on to ignition and listening for it? But no codes were thrown. Last Saturday I noticed my inverter coolant reservoir was on the low mark. Is it possible that the impeller has broken off inside the pump? No codes were thrown up. We continued to drive with no more problems. The plugs where changed at 80,000 miles.